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Wednesday, May 22, 2013

It Happened at the Fair

It was the best of books, it was the best of books. (hee hee hee, you didn't expect me to say "best" again, did you?)

Book Rating: Up All Night'er

What a way to come back from vacation! After a "blog" and "book" hiatus while I was out of town, I returned to my favorite past-time and oh, how I'd missed it! This book was a great way to get back into the swing 'o things, if ya know what I'm sayin'. Have you read it? OK, then you know what I'm talking about.

I know you are curious why I could rate this an "Up All Night'er" when I said it was a "best" book. Here, let me explain.

First of all, I believe there are three main characters in this book, not just two: the hero, the heroine and the setting--the fair. I've never really read any other book quite like this one. At first, it took me a long time to warm to the "third" main character because at times it seemed as though it was trying stealing the show. There is SO much detail and SO much history that it pert near (say that with a cowboy accent) overwhelmed me. But, as I got used to it, I realized that it was as much a living part of the story as Cullen (hero) and Della (heroine) are, and without it, the story would be only mildly entertaining.

On that note, for me, as much as I thoroughly enjoyed this story--I really did--I also found myself kinda bored a lot of the time. Cullen is a great hero, and he comes to life, but something about him left me wanting. The same thing can be said about Della. She is a sweet and truly lovable heroine, but how come I didn't reeeeeaaaaallllly get to know her? And where was the conflict? OK, there was conflict, but not a ton. There were some good rescues--you know how I loves those--and some good action etcetera, but there didn't seem to be enough conflict to keep the story moving forward. And yet, I still wanted to keep reading!! I had to know what was going to happen next! Weird, huh?

This is a beautifully simple story, about two lovely people who are simply trying to do their best and follow their hearts. You won't be disappointed if you read it--even if you only read it from a purely historical standpoint.

Beware! If you are like me, and you expect good kisses to be mingled through the book you will be disappointed. There is nothing until the end! So, that's a bummer. But, there is a great ending to the story--Dee never let's her readers down in that respect.

Lastly, there is no real Christian message. She mentioned scripture and God here and there, but there could have been GREAT and even powerful messages used with these characters, but for some reason there was nothing and I must say that alone forced me to rate it lower then I would have liked.

In the end, would I read it again? I'm not sure. Would you?! At any rate, you have to read it once!

Honestly, this one wasn't my favorite. It took me 2 weeks to read and that's an eternity for me. Her other books I would read within 24 hrs. Would I read this one again? Probably not.....but the other books she's written I would read those over and over. I was overwhelmed with the 'third main character'. The storyline was hidden for me with all the details with the fair. I wish I had something better to say :(

I must agree with you Candy--though I'm a big fan, this was not one of my favorites of hers. And now that I've learned she won't be writing "Christian" any more I'm really bummed. But, I'm sure I'll keep reading her stuff anyway--its still clean and fun, but I'll miss that message.

I'm currently reading this book right now. Though I'm not far into it I can already see what you mean by three characters.

Deeanne has said in a recent interview that she's going to be writing mainstream novels from now on. She calls them mainstream because they are being released by Simon and Schuster's line Howard Books. I think though, that Howard Books is considered S&S's inspirational line. The books will be clean, but not particularly religious. Her last few books with Bethany House hardly had anything spiritual in them, so I'm not surprised. She says that she wants non-Christian people to find her books and want to read them. Here's a link to the interview.

Sylvia! Thanks for sharing this interview! There was a "question" from a Sylvia--was that you?! I must admit that I am really sad she won't be writing Christian anymore. I LOVED her messages in the past and I will really miss that. But you are right, her last books at Bethany were almost void of anything Christian, so she must be ready to move on. I am disappointed she won't be doing that because I felt her messages were so moving--and that's one of the main reasons I read in this genre--to get uplifted and stuff, you know?Anyway, I'm so thrilled you sent me think link I'm going to "share" it on FB. Thanks and God bless!

Yes, that question was from me. :) Some of my favorite boos are marriage of convenience stories. I agree about wanting to mostly read books with Christian messages. If it's a secular author I'm not expecting there to be a Christian message. I just make sure the book is clean. When I read a Christian author's blog and they seem to talk about how God is speaking to them personally and they seem to have a relationship with the Lord I expect it to come out in their writing. I don't know why they think readers won't want the characters to have a Christian life also. Going away from a book uplifted is definitely the way to go!

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About Me

A happy-go-lucky homemaker with a passion for historical Christian romances! If I'm not coloring or playing dress-up with my two adorable daughters, I am reading! My biggest concern everyday is making sure that everything I do is for the glory of God. I love the Lord and I'm grateful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The thing I love most about these books is that they help to draw me closer to Him!